It is common for a recreational vehicle (RV) such as a trailer, camper, or motor home to be fitted with an awning assembly that can be deployed when the RV is parked to provide shade and rain protection for an area adjacent to the parked RV. The awning assembly can be retracted and stowed against the side of the RV when not in use, such as when the RV is in transit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,419 (Lux) illustrates one example of a prior art RV awning assembly.
A typical RV awning assembly includes an elongate awning reel, each end of which is rotatably connected to the upper end of a telescoping strut, the lower end of which is rotatably connected to a lower region of a sidewall of the RV. A rectangular awning sheet, typically made from a waterproof or water-resistant fabric, has an upper edge that is attached to an upper region of the RV sidewall, and a parallel lower edge attached to the awning reel. The assembly is provided with springs or other biasing means effective to cause the awning sheet to roll up around the awning reel when the struts and awning reel are rotated toward the RV sidewall.
Such RV awning assemblies commonly incorporate a fabric-type valance sheet which is typically integral or contiguous with the awning sheet and hangs down over the awning reel. The valance provides a partial sunshade, and may also add aesthetic appeal. The assembly is configured such that the deployed awning always slopes toward the reel, such that rain falling on the awning will naturally flow toward the reel and then over the valance.
Awning assemblies as described above enhance RV owners' enjoyment of their RVs by allowing them to sit outside in dry comfort during rain showers. In such conditions, however, a rainwater runoff curtain forms directly below and along the full length of the awning reel and valance. Persons sitting under the awning during a rain shower may often wish to step out of the awning-protected area for one reason or another in spite of the rain, but if they exit this area under the awning reel they typically have to pass through the runoff curtain (because exiting under the sloping side edges of the awning is typically inconvenient or impossible due to the awning reel support struts). Accordingly, they will be susceptible to a soaking from the runoff curtain that will be considerably more concentrated than the rainfall itself, due to the fact that the runoff curtain concentrates all of the rain falling over the entire surface area of the awning.
In addition, the runoff curtain creates a wet and often muddy zone on the ground surface below and along the length of the awning reel. For persons entering or exiting the awning-protected area during or after a rain shower, this wet/muddy zone presents an inconvenience at best and a slipping hazard at worst.
A further inconvenience caused by a runoff curtain below an awning reel is that it impairs the view of persons sitting under the awning, and this impairment of course increases with rainfall intensity.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,069 (Mashaw et al.) and corresponding Canadian Patent No. 2,353,299 represent one example of a prior art attempt to control rainwater runoff from an RV awning assembly. Mashaw teaches an awning assembly with a mechanism adapted to automatically lower one sloping side edge of the awning when a predetermined weight of water has collected on the awning, such that the awning is temporarily deformed to create a channel to divert and drain the accumulated water toward the lowered side edge of the awning, whereupon springs return the awning to its original position. However, this apparatus is mechanically complex, with various moving parts that are prone to wear and possible malfunction. Moreover, it does not address the aforementioned problems of a concentrated runoff curtain under the lower edge of the awning, except on a brief and intermittent basis, and it produces a concentrated runoff stream that is simply dumped onto the ground in an adjacent area.
Another prior art approach to controlling RV awning runoff is the “Dippy Gutter” system sold by Dippy Gutter, LLC of Riverside, Ala. In accordance with this system, a gutter formed of fabric is attached along the lower edge of an existing RV awning (i.e., adjacent the awning reel), with the gutter draining into a flexible downspout at one end of the gutter. This system will effectively prevent the formation of a runoff curtain below the awning reel, but it has certain practical drawbacks. Each “Dippy Gutter” must be custom-fit to the length of the RV awning in question, and the existing awning assembly needs to be modified to receive the fasteners that are required for attaching the gutter. When not in use, the “Dippy Gutter” can be rolled up for storage, but first it has to be dried out, and when in storage it takes up a significant amount of space that might otherwise be used for other purposes.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for improved apparatus and methods for controlling rainwater runoff from RV awnings, and in particular for preventing the formation of a runoff curtain under the lower edge of an RV awning, preferably with apparatus having no moving parts. There is a further and related need for such apparatus and methods that also facilitate removal and diversion of awning runoff to a disposal area a reasonable distance away from the awning assembly. The present invention is directed to these needs.